RF2: Life in Progress
by mnkm
Summary: Based on the game's first generation. / Seemingly brought to Alvarna without any traces of memories, Kyle is stuck with farm work while getting used to the village. Perhaps, he thought... perhaps he didn't need his memories back, if he could continue this enjoyable life forever.
1. The Town of Alvarna

Everything came to an end once he reached the flowers. He stared up at the cherry tree, which had been standing upright over the area. Petals were gently floating down onto the ground, leaving him in awe at the beautiful sight. He had walked a long way over with no answers to his curiosity, but something had led the man here. There was just... something deep in the back of his mind that he just couldn't get. What was his mission?

No... more importantly, _did_ he even have a mission? Who was he anyways?

"King... Gilbert...?" he whispered. Confused, he touched his own lips.

Who was Gilbert? A king? The king of what? The name just suddenly... popped up in his mind. But he couldn't remember. What happened to him?

In the midst of all the confusion, he stopped thinking.

The petals continued falling and he continued staring at the tree.

He felt... calm. Soothed. Like there was nothing to worry about.

"Wow... this place is nice..." he whispered. "And these flowers... are so beautiful," the man noted. Supposing if he doesn't recover his memories... maybe... maybe he could live here? _I wonder if the villagers have room for me..._

"Oh, hello!" a voice completely unknown to him greeted. Snapping out of his state of peace, the man gently turned his head to the new arrival and turned around to fully face her. It was... a girl. She had... dark bluish hair, a small shade of violet somewhat hard to see too. Two red ribbons tied in front of each ear, and wearing a beautiful dress. The man gulped- was he welcomed here? "Hey, I haven't seen you around here before. Are you just passing through?" the girl asked.

Mentally calming himself, he coughed. "I... believe so?"

To his surprise, the girl chuckled. "You think so? You mean, you're not sure?" she asked.

He nodded nervously. "That's... one way to put it, ha...ha." Beat. Did she think he was weird?

"Hehe, that's a bit funny," the girl replied.

The two shared a light laugh, which quickly became somewhat awkward for the man. _This feels really weird_ , he mused. Then he took notice of the petals still falling down. "Wow... beautiful..." he unconsciously muttered.

The girl flinched and turned pink. "O-oh, you... you think so?" she asked, fidgeting with her hair. "Heehee... t-thank you..." _W-wait, we just met...!_ she yelled mentally at herself.

Realizing how it might have been misunderstood, the man nervously laughed. "Oh, uh... that tree, I meant. It's really pretty, haha..."

"Ah, yes, it is!" the girl agreed immediately. _Stupid me..._ She coughed. "It's called a _cherry tree_. They bloom with pink blossoms around this time of the year!" She hopped close to the three with a soft chuckle. "That's one of the reasons I love coming here..."

The man smiled. "Yeah, I think I can get used to this place..." he murmured. Perhaps the villagers would accept him, if a girl like this is so polite and kind.

"Really?" the girl asked with a hint of excitement. "That's great!"

The two shared another laugh that went quiet within few seconds. The man eventually looked away from her, sweating. _I... still can't remember anything though,_ he mentally sighed. _How do I introduce myself to her...?_

Meanwhile, the girl looked away with a blush. _H-he's kind of... good-looking. And seems really polite and kind, too..._ gulping, she sneaked glances at the man, who seemed to be... troubled over something? _I wonder what's bothering him...?_

All of a sudden, the ground shook violently. The unknown male looked around and tensed. "W-watch out! It's an earthquake!" he quickly exclaimed.

The girl, however, sighed. _Here he comes..._ she thought. "W-wait, um, it's not-" Before she could finish, loud thumping noises became closer to the two.

Both stared at the entrance of the area, where a huge muscular man with a rather humorously-styled mustache stomped over. "Mana!" he roared. "I am not going to let you marry him!"

"H-huh? Marry?" the amnesiac man mused.

" _F-f-father!?_ " Mana shrieked, turning bright red. "M-marry!? What are you talking about!?" _F-fatheeeer! Not in front of him_ , she screamed internally.

Faking tears out his eyes, the muscular man sniffled. "Why, you promised me that you'd stay my little girl forever!"

Groaning, the girl took a glance at the weird man she met- he seemed _really_ confused. Feeling even more embarrassed, she growled. "Y-yeah, when I was _six!_ Ugh!" the girl turned away from her father, then sighed. "Why are you even talking about this!?"

The parent scowled. "Don't lie your way out of this!" he shouted. "I overheard you two talking about love and feelings and that sort of stuff!"

"H-he was eavesdropping...?" the amnesiac man muttered, unsure what to think of this.

Mana blushed again upon remembering her misunderstanding of the man's compliments. "Father! We were talking about how much we loved the flowers!" she retorted. "The... flowers... Father!"

He sighed. "Oh, you were? Haha, phew. That's a relief!" The man patted Mana's back proudly. "Don't scare me like that, Mana!"

"Oh my- _you're_ the one who scared _us!_ " she shrieked. Her father nervously laughed and muttered quiet apologies, pushing his fingers together like a child forced to apologize, while Mana sighed and groggily turned back to the amnesiac man. "I-I'm sorry about that..." she said. "This is my father. I... hope he didn't scare you too much."

"Haha... it's, it's okay, really..." the man replied. _Sounds like he could kill me anytime..._ he thought and gulped nervously.

The father rubbed his ridiculous mustache. "Who is this fellow anyways, Mana?"

Mana shrugged. "He says he's just passing through town." _It'd be nice if he could stay though..._ she sighed.

"N-nice to meet you, s-sir!"

The parent frowned. "Just passing through town, huh? Well, you better hurry up and get _out_ before you start getting funny ideas about my daughter!"

"W-well, I wo-"

"As long as I'm alive," he shouted, "nobody ain't marrying my little girl!"

Sweat-dropping, the new man nodded. "I- yeah, I kinda... gathered that... right."

"Father!" Mana exclaimed, turning red for the umpteenth time. "Will you be quiet!?" she begged.

"B-but Mana, I am only-"

"You're embarrassing me!" the girl pleaded.

The father immediately went quiet, sighing and looking away in the same immature way he previously did.

Sighing again, Mana turned to the new man. "L-listen, I'm _really_ sorry about all this, haha..."

"No, don't worry about it... ha...ha."

The girl nervously laughed. "We're causing you so much trouble, and I don't even know your name!" She pointed to herself. "I'm Mana, and this is my father-" she pointed to her father.

"Douglas," the parent said.

Nodding, she turned to the man. "Yeah. And what about you?" she asked. "You are...?"

He deadpanned. _Oh, boy..._ "Well, um... I don't really know how to say this, but..." he paused and stared as the other two returned the stare. Sighing, he shrugged. "I'm not... really sure _who_ I am..."

Mana frowned. "What, really? Why not?" she asked, concerned.

"I- I don't know..." the man replied. "I just... can't remember anything. But something about this town... kind of drags me in..." he murmured.

 _Amnesia, huh...?_ The girl stared on, lost in deep thoughts. _Then we can't help him in any way, can we... wait! The farm!_ She smiled. "Really? Well, I'm glad you ended up here then! You don't have any plans on where to go, do you?" she asked. The man shook his head. Smiling, she turned to Douglas. "Father! The farmland!"

"The abandoned one?" her father asked. She nodded. "Well... I suppose you can, I mean, nobody's using it right now..." he muttered.

Mana chuckled. _That's it! This is it!_ "Say," she turned to the man, "there's a farmland here that hasn't been used for a long time. Would you like to stay there?" she asked.

"I... I may?" the man asked. "I mean, we only just met... and, well, it'd be a bother if I-"

"Of course not!" the girl chuckled again. "Nobody's living there, it's a waste if it goes on. I'd feel better if someone finally lived there!"

Sighing, he scratched his head. "W-well... okay, let me think abo-"

"There's nothing to think about, boy!" Douglas shouted. "Mana's telling you to use it, so use it! You better listen to my girl, boy!"

He straightened up and saluted. "Y-yes sir!"

"Father!" Mana shouted.

"S-sorry..."

Clearing her throat, the girl smiled. "But yeah, it'd be good if you put the farmland to use!" she said. "Besides, my father and I run the general store here. If you start living here and buy things from us, you'll be helping us too!" she explained. "Wouldn't that be okay?"

"Well... if you say so... then sure!" the man nodded.

"Haha, great! But first... we should think of a name for you." She rubbed her chin. "I mean, it wouldn't be pleasant to call you _You_ all the time... hmm..."

"Jonathan?" Douglas suggested. "It sounds like a pretty average name for an average guy like him."

Mana shook her head. "No... it doesn't fit." _Looks too cute to be a Jonathan._

The man scratched his head. "Was it... Roger?" He noticed the other two staring at him. "...no, I don't think so."

"How about Douglas Jr.? He could be my disciple..." the mustached man mused.

"Father, please... no," Mana gently said to her father.

He huddled besides the tree, sobbing.

Sweat-dropping, the amnesiac man turned to Mana. "Is... is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be okay." The girl focused back onto her new friend. "Say, how about Kyle?"

"Kyle?" the man muttered. "Kyle... Kyle..." He smiled. "That's a nice name!"

"Isn't it?" Mana chuckled. "Then you're **Kyle** from now on, then!" She grabbed him by the hand and started dragging him. "Now, come on, Kyle! The farm's just around the east of here!"

Kyle flinched. "O-oh, uh, okay... s-slow down..." he whispered, but as that went unheard by the girl, he shrugged and ran along.

"Mana... so cold..." Douglas cried to himself, still near the tree.

* * *

If one were to take a look at the farmland, their first thought would be- " _Wow, it looks so lonely._ "

In the case of a young man, it was different. He was amazed by the size of it. "Wow... it's so huge!" he exclaimed.

Mana chuckled. "Isn't it?" she asked. "Haha, though it hasn't been used in a while, so... it'll need a little work... heehee."

Scratching his head, Kyle smiled. "I think I can handle this much."

"Great!" Mana clapped her hands together and pulled out a watering can and a hoe. "Why don't you try things out? Starting with these!"

"R-right now?" the man asked.

Douglas suddenly rushed up to them. "Mana just told you to try them out! What's stopping you, boy? Be a man!" he shouted, stopping right in front of the two.

"Y-yes sir!"

He grabbed the hoe tightly and, with some force, Kyle swung it onto the ground in front of him. The ground wasn't farming soil, so it wasn't really a pleasant feeling when the hoe shook in his hands, but nevertheless it felt somewhat good as he pulled it back up. Mana clapped. "Wow! That was great, Kyle! You look like a natural!"

"Y-you think so?" he nervously scratched his head. _Am I blushing? I hope I'm not._

"Now try the watering can!" Mana said.

"Okay..." He tried watering the same area in front of him. The two watched in amazement. "Was that good?"

Mana clapped again, Douglas nodding with approval. "You looked amazing, Kyle!"

"I gotta admit, boy..." the father mused. "If I had to comment, I'd say you were born to become a farmer!"

 _B-but I just watered normally like anyone would though..._ Kyle thought. "H-ha, ha... thanks... I don't know about that though..."

"Lucky for you, Kyle," the girl chimed in, "we can provide you both tools together for 100G! Special sale price, take it or leave it."

"I- I have to buy these?" the new civilian asked. She nodded. He sighed. "You're... not as pure as you look, are you? Haha...ha."

"Teehee~" the girl chimed in response.

Douglas shrugged. "Though in my opinion, 100G's too cheap for both, kiddo."

Burrowing his hands in his pants' pockets, Kyle felt some coins. _Huh, I have money with me... why is that?_ He pulled out a pouch of coins. "Huh... I have 150G. I guess... I'll take them."

"Fantastic!" Mana exclaimed. "Good luck on your new farm life, Kyle! Oh, and also," she pointed to the direction of a house nearby in the city, "we also sell seeds at our house. Stop by to get some for planting!"

"Work hard and get food, kiddo. Gyahahaha!" Douglas cheered.

Kyle sweat-dropped. _I think these kind villagers tricked me..._

"Say, what're you going to name your farm, Kyle?" Mana asked.

"Hmm..." the man mused. "I think... I'll call it **Emerald Farm**..." _Why Emerald?_ he asked himself mentally.

"Why Emerald?" Douglas asked. "Are you going to grow emeralds here? Gahaha!"

"Father!" Mana exclaimed before rolling her eyes, annoyed at her parent. "Well, um... each to his own, I suppose. Hahaha..."

"T-thanks..." Kyle replied, unsure if it sounded weird. _No, of course it sounds weird... Emerald. Pft._

Mana patted the newcomer. "Alright then! Looks like you're all set." She smiled. "You should get to work and start making money then!"

"O-okay... haha..."

"Oh," she paused, "but you should probably get to know the others in Alvarna though."

Kyle nodded. "Alright."

"Good luck, Kyle!"

 _This is going to be hard..._ he thought.


	2. Intro: Blacksmiths, Generals, Hospitals

"Hmm... I wonder if..." Kyle mused. While Mana _did_ tell him to go introduce himself to the villagers first, he had felt that the farm needed some cleaning. It's not like he was being picky, it was just bothering his... instincts. So he did exactly what he wanted- cleaning up the farm space. Or at least, he would have done so completely, but there were some giant rocks and stumps that he just couldn't get rid of. He was now on his way to a blacksmith shop.

Perhaps they sold farming tools there too, hopefully? And maybe not for 100G each... he shivered as he remembered the evil genius of Mana, fooling him into buying tools and working for her. Then again, Douglas _did_ say it was cheap. Maybe the blacksmith would sell tools more expensive than that.

He peeked into the workshop to witness an argument between two people.

"Come on, Mom! Stop bothering me already!" a little boy shouted.

"Now now, Roy, I just want to know which sword you think is better!" his mother exclaimed, a bored expression on her face.

The boy with green hair groaned. "Mom, I just wanted to know what's for lunch..."

"Lunch? Boy, you have no idea how much lunch you can get with actual weapons!" the mother replied. "In fact, I'll let you know now that weapons get you better food than mothers!"

"That's not something you should be saying as a mother, Mom!" the boy named Roy sighed. "Why can't I have a normal mother...?"

"..." Kyle sweat-dropped. This seemed like an... interesting family.

Roy turned and noticed him at the door. "Oh, hey, someone's here..." he pointed. The two looked at him. "Hey, I haven't see you around here before."

"And who might this new face be?" the mother asked.

Kyle nervously laughed. _I'll just keep my comments about that scene to myself..._ "I-I'm Kyle. I, uh, just moved in recently... to the farm near the town..."

"That wasteland?" Roy asked and laughed. "Haha! Good luck raising any crops in there!"

"Not now, Roy..." the mother sighed and smirked. "Ah, yes... Douglas was telling me about you," she said. "I'm Tanya. Nice to meet you, Kyle."

The now-farmer smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Tanya."

"Hey, Kyle! If you need any help, you can always ask me, alright?" Roy said.

"S-sure."

Tanya suddenly wrapped her arms around his back. "Say, Kyle, are you interested in swords? Blades? Or any sharp objects?" she asked. "I really love swords, you know. Not the _huge sword_ that you might or might not have, but actual, huge swords."

Kyle flushed red. "W-what?" He somewhat got the idea of what the woman was saying, but...

"Mom!" Roy exclaimed. "Oh, man! Sorry, Kyle. If you need help about my mom, then you can always ask me, again!"

"Roy, why do you understand what I meant by that?" Tanya asked skeptically.

The green-haired boy stared at his mother... and laughed before running out the shop in a hurry.

Tanya sighed. "That son of mine... oh well, sorry, Kyle. I was just joking around." She patted the farmer's head, chuckling. "What a cutie, all embarrassed like that."

"T-thanks...?" Kyle replied, unsure whether that was a good thing.

She looked around her own shop. "But yeah, that's a shame. You're not into sharp stuff, okay. But me," she said, "I'm all about them! I can't get enough!"

The farmer gulped. "I... I can see that."

"And Kyle, my boy," Tanya grinned, "you know what a real man like you need?" she asked. Kyle didn't react to that, unsure. "A sword! Yes! A sword, hahaha! Monsters never come into the town, so I can't test any out. But Kyle," she continued, "you're a farmer, right? There are areas that you can farm outside the town, in those dangerous dungeons or zones. There, you'll definitely need to fight monsters!"

"O-okay..."

She turned the boy around and pointed to more weapons. "And furthermore... weapons can be aided by Skill Seals!"

Kyle frowned. "S-skilled what?"

"Skill Seals, Kyle." Tanya patted her own short sword. "Skill Seals help you perform special techniques that might not be possible, especially not for a normal human." The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a circular sticker with a green background and white silhouette of a short sword. "Here, this one's a classic. I'll teach you this one." Before the male could ask what she would do, Tanya patted the sticker flat onto Kyle's forehead, and a bright flash occurred.

"W-what happened!?" Kyle asked.

Chuckling, the woman let go of him. "There, you now know how to perform the Power Wave technique!" she exclaimed. "With this skill, you can charge up and release a shockwave that may or may not stun your enemies. Probably will."

"...you sound unsure."

Tanya flicked Kyle's forehead. "No spoilers for beginning swordsmen."

"O-ow... okay..." Kyle scratched his forehead. No stickers were on his head. _How does that work_ , he wondered. Sighing, he headed towards the entrance. "W-well, I think I should get going now... see you later, Tanya."

"See you later, Kyle!" Tanya exclaimed. "And make sure you give a... _sharp_ introduction to the others!" Cue a short moment of Tanya laughing and Kyle sweat-dropping.

After stepping out the blacksmith workshop and waving to Tanya, he walked towards the closest building. It seemed like quite a fancy place... only that the door was shut close and locked. "...huh." Kyle shrugged. "The... _Wisdom Bathhouse_ , I see... closed on Mondays. Okay." He walked away, wondering why there was a need for bathhouses when every house should have their own bathrooms.

Continuing on, he reached a general store-like place.

"This looks like a general store..." he mused. "General... store." After a few beats, he smiled. "This must be Mana's place. Pumpkin General Store, huh? Sounds like a nice place." He gently opened the store's door and peeked inside. "Hello?"

Mana was inside, carrying some boxes from one place to another. She paused upon hearing his voice and smiled. "Welcome, Kyle!" she said. "Father, Kyle's here!"

Kyle waved back to her with a smile, but nervously shrunk a bit as he heard the loud earth-shattering steps of the father, Douglas.

"Hey, kiddo. A real man," Douglas pointed to himself, "such as myself, would buy something nice and expensive right now!"

The farmer flinched. "W-well, uh, no... maybe I'll buy a few seeds for farming then... and nothing else..."

Douglas gasped. "You're going to buy a few seeds? And then ask for my daughter's hand in marriage!?" he exclaimed. Kyle got a perplexed expression right before Douglas continued shouting. "I won't allow it!"

Mana face-palmed before hitting her father's shoulder. "Father!" She groaned. "I- I'm sorry about him, really."

"H-haha... don't worry about it," Kyle reassured. "You have an... interesting father there."

"Do I really, now?" Mana asked, ignoring her father's fall of defeat from her sheer coldness. "Don't let him get to you. Kyle, you're allowed in this store anytime you want!"

The farmer smiled. "Thank you, Mana. Well then, I guess I'll see what you have in stock..."

Douglas got up and sighed. "Hold on now, let me teach you the basics," he said. Kyle raised an eyebrow. The mustached man pointed to their supplies. "This is our store, so those are our- mine and Man's- supplies for sale." Then he pointed to the bag Kyle was carrying. "That's your bag, so that's where you keep your stuff." Smiling, he shook his head like he was teaching a beginner. "If you want to buy anything, you put an item from our supply into your bag and pay. If you want to sell, you take out your item and put it on the counter, and we'll pay." He patted Kyle's head. "Do you understand, kiddo?"

"...I think I already know that much, s-sir..." Kyle muttered, unsure of whether he was being mocked.

"What!?" Douglas exclaimed. "You want to know if you can buy my little Mana!? Of course no-"

" _Father!_ " Mana shrieked with a red face, throwing a bag of pink turnip seeds at her father's face. "Jeez! Y-you're embarrassing me!" Quickly ignoring the groan of pain that followed, she quickly bowed to the farmer in front of her. "I-I'm sorry once again, Kyle! My father's just... r-really, really crazy..."

Kyle nervously laughed yet again. _This town is full of surprises, isn't it?_ "H-haha...ha... it's alright."

 _Shoot, he thinks I'm weird for sure!_ Mana whimpered to herself. "W-well, um, how about you buy this bag of pink turnip seeds for today!?" she asked in a hurry. "Here you go, 980G please, thank you, come again!" Mana said and pushed the bag into Kyle's hands, and attempted to push the man out the store.

"W-wait, I only have 50G left, r-remember?"

"...today's special discount for Kyle! Ahaha, ahahaha!" she exclaimed and quickly pushed him out, then shutting the door.

Kyle frowned. "...d-did I do somethi-" He was briefly cut short by more cries of pain from inside the store, definitely from the insanely overprotective father. "...I'll be back... some other time, then."

Wishing silently for Douglas' safety, the farmer walked towards the next building- a hospital. How'd he know it was a hospital? _Well, the plus sign was a dead giveaway..._ he internally chuckled. Compared to the other buildings, this one seemed quite modern, in his opinion. Walking inside, he heard a girl crying.

"I, I was running after R-Roy!" the voice cried. "And, and, I skinned my knees! I-it hurts, Miss Natalie!" she cried more. "P-please help me!"

As he delved deeper, he felt a hand pat his back. Kyle flinched and turned around. A girl was looking right back at him, a finger on her lips, telling him to be quiet. He nervously nodded. _W-who is this girl?_ he wondered. Suddenly the girl smiled.

"Just watch. My mother's a rather mature and calm nurse, she'll calm the girl down in no time..."

Kyle froze. It was a guy's voice. _Oh, it's a guy._

The guy frowned. "...I feel like you thought I was a girl."

"N-no, no, of course not..." Kyle whispered nervously, laughing unconvincingly.

The feminine-looking man glared suspiciously, but looked back at the scene with his supposed mother.

"Well, Cammy," the nurse began, "you must fall down to learn about pain." She got a bandage out.

The light-pink haired girl, contrasting the nurse's somewhat dark-pink hair, sniffled and looked up. "W-what, what do you mean?" she asked. "Will I... be okay, Miss Natalie?"

The nurse, Natalie, chuckled. "Oh, it means that you should learn about everything and experience them yourself. Now, rush along." She smiled. "You should be okay now."

Cammy giggled and jumped on her feet. Flinching a bit from the slight pain, she ignored it and rushed out the hospital. "Thank you, Miss Natalie!" she exclaimed.

"Quite a soothing nurse, isn't she?" the man commented. "Oh, I apologize. Good day, mister." He got up and offered Kyle a handshake. "My name is Ray. I believe this is the first time we met."

Kyle smiled. "My name's Kyle. Nice to meet you," he said as he accepted the handshake. _Wow, his skin is really soft too. This guy's a man?_

"...I'm a male, just noting," Ray added as he squeezed Kyle's hand a bit harder.

 _H-huh? Can he read minds...?_ Kyle wondered, sweating nervously.

"Anyways, as you can see," Ray began, "my mother's a nurse. The only doctor in this town, currently." He sighed. "A great one too, although sometimes she might not be as mature as she actually is... and that's understandable." The feminine man looked over to his mother. "Being one of the few sane people in this town has definitely taken its toll on her..." Suddenly, he froze. Kyle cocked his head. Ray shivered. "Uh oh..."

"What is i-" Kyle felt himself being shoved asides. He looked around- an oddly-dressed woman walked towards the nurse. She looked like a witch... a legit one with magical powers... _yeah, this town is quite interesting,_ he thought.

"Prepare for a storm..." Ray whispered.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a loud obnoxious laugh that sounded like a typical rich person, with all the mocking traits. "Oh, dear Miss Natalie!" the witch(?) exclaimed. "I think it'd be better to explain the concept of pain to someone _before_ they feel it!" She then grinned evilly, directly at the scowl of the nurse. "After all, Cammy and the others would appreciate it much more, right?"

Clicking her tongue, Natalie put back some tools in a nearby drawer. "I think _you'd_ be better off experiencing lots of pain, Alicia." Annoyed, the dark-pink haired doctor turned to the witch-like lady. "And please, I'm your mother. Don't call me by my name, Alicia."

"Make me, Mi-"

"And finally, stop that fortune-telling nonsense." Natalie rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Get a real job, Alicia. An actual, useful job."

"Wha-" Alicia paled, before gritting her teeth with rage. "How _dare_ you! My fortune telling is _not_ nonsense!"

"Whatever it is, Alicia, I will never accept it!"

Ray groaned. "Oh, boy..." he whispered. Feeling Kyle's sympathetic stare, he nodded. "Yeah, this is a normal occurrence in the family."

"...oh, boy..." Kyle repeated, to which the doctor's son nodded again.

"I'll handle this..." Ray muttered and walked onto the scene. "Sister, mother. Why do you two have to always be like this?" he asked. "First, dear mother, can't you just accept Alicia's decisions?" Then he turned to his fortune-telling sister. "And dear sister, can't you stop running your mouth off like that?"

Natalie looked away bitterly. "As a doctor, I do not believe in anything that isn't supported by science nor reason."

"And as a fortune teller," Alicia remarked, "I only believe in the future, not a snotty mother."

The two women growled at each other, causing Ray to sigh. "You're both as stubborn as ever..." he commented. They ignored him and continued sending hateful glances.

Kyle nervously laughed. "W-well, at least you tried, uh, Ray..."

"Oh?" Natalie noticed him. "And who might this young man be, Ray?" she asked. "A new friend?"

"H-hi..." Kyle muttered. "I'm, uh, Kyle. And... yeah, sorry, I saw the whole thing."

Natalie shook her head and smiled. "That's alright. I should be the one to apologize, Kyle." She sighed tiredly. "I'm Natalie, the doctor of this village. Are you staying at Egan's inn?"

 _Egan?_ Kyle shook his head. "No, I'm staying at... Douglas' and Mana's farm. Or that abandoned farm place..." he answered.

The nurse slightly showed a bit of surprise on her expression, but chuckled. "Oh, that's right... I heard someone was moving there." She patted Kyle's head. "Say, did those two force you to buy their things?" she asked curiously.

"Haha, well... kind of." Kyle laughed as he remembered the pure genius of Mana once again.

Natalie laughed along. "Well, don't worry. They're actually good people, don't hold it against them," she said.

"Of course. I can tell... haha." Once again, Kyle felt like laughing. Then he remembered the screams of pain from Douglas after he left the store. "...probably."

"Hahaha, you say that like something bad has happened." Natalie smiled and patted his head again, rubbing his hair. "But anyways, farming may be fun work and all, but if you feel tired or sick, you must not forget to rest and take care of yourself first."

"Okay, _doctor_." Kyle resisted the urge to grin when Natalie raised an eyebrow at him.

She eventually laughed. "Oh, you. Have fun with farming, Kyle!"

"Thanks, Natalie." He headed towards the hospital's exit, when a girl blocked his path. Specifically... Alicia. _Uh-oh... exactly not who I want to get to know..._ he gulped. "...uh... he-"

" _Ssshhh!_ " Alicia hushed him, earning a frown. "I'm reading your fortune..." she whispered-explained.

"O-oh... I, uh, see..."

A few seconds passed by. Alicia hummed. "Young man... lemme guess... you're not from this town, am I right?"

"N-no..." Kyle replied. _Is this really fortune telling_ , he wondered.

Alicia suddenly laughed with excitement. "Yes, I did it! I really am an amazing fortune teller!"

The farmer sweat-dropped. _W-well of course I'm not from this town..._ he stared as the girl continued cheering. _I've never even met you before..._

The again-pink haired girl pouted. "Ah! Just now you thought, ' _of course I'm not from this town! I've never even met you before!_ ' Am I right?"

Kyle frowned. "O-of course not! I wasn't!" _Though it was kind of obvious, I guess._

"Don't lie!" Alicia exclaimed. "I'm an expert fortune reader, I can read your mind!" she said. "And even if it's a bit off, I can make them come true anyways!"

"..." he remained silent. _I-it's not fortune telling if you make it come true yourself!_ _...is what I'd like to sho-_

"Of course it is!" Alicia exclaimed. "As long as it comes true, it's fortune telling success!"

"..." _Hold on... can she actually... read minds!?_

Ray chuckled and patted him. "Haha, don't be fooled. Of course she can't."

Kyle paled at him. _Can he also read minds!?_

Natalie walked up to him and, also chuckling, patted him. "Haha, don't think too much about that nonsense. None of them can."

The farmer shivered. _Wow, this town is full of surprises... even the scientific nurse can re-_

"No," Natalie simply said.

Kyle stared at the three in silence. "...i-is it... that obvious what I'm thinking...?"

"Yes," all three replied.

"...o-okay..." Kyle looked down, embarrassed. _Oh, boy._

Alicia laughed. "You're Kyle, right?" she asked. The farmer nodded embarrasedly. "I'm Alicia, and as you can see- I'm a fortune teller!"

"A fraud and a waste of time," Natalie muttered under her breath.

"What was that!?"

"You heard me! Get a real job already!"

"Oh, that's it! Say goodbye to your stupid science-y tools!"

"Wait, Alicia, don't you d- _Alicia!_ "

Kyle and Ray immediately ran out the building as lots of crashes could be heard throughout the hospital. They looked at the tall building as the noises continued.

After a few seconds, Ray laughed nervously. "W-well then, Kyle... please, uh, visit the hospital sometimes..." he said, with crumbling hope.

"...okay..." Kyle replied. He laughed nervously before slowly turning away and walking a bit faster than usual, towards the central.

 _Damn it_ , Ray cursed. _He's definitely staying away from us..._


End file.
